BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) When it comes to flooding, nothing is predictable. And one of the first things you learn is that water rises a lot faster than it recedes.
Thursday night we saw the peak runoff from all of the rain and snow melt in Western New York from the recent thaw. Even though temperatures have dropped below freezing, all the water that entered creeks and streams still has to make its way downstream.
"Flooding will continue today in many areas, along small streams, poor drainage areas and along larger creeks and rivers," said Meteorologist Jon Hitchcock with the National Weather Service in Buffalo.
Numerous roads were closed in Western New York Friday due to flooding.
Most of them are near small streams and creeks. This includes the Buffalo Metro area, southern tier and western Finger Lakes.
Stony Road in Lancaster remains closed! Please do not try and cross standing water. #turnarounddontdrown pic.twitter.com/oLt8MtxrxT
— Erie County DPW (@ErieCountyDPW) February 18, 2022
"As we go through today, the faster responding creeks, like Cazenovia and Buffalo Creeks will peak Friday morning and recede Friday afternoon. But slower responding rivers will continue to rise."
Hitchcock says the slowest river of all, Tonawanda Creek, will continue to rise throughout the weekend. "Areas that typically flood in the northern part of Amherst and Clarence, can expect conditions to worsen on Friday and Saturday.
It takes quite some time to drain all of the water through the creeks, especially slower creeks, such as Tonawanda.
For Erie County Public Works crews, it's all hands on deck. These crews had to handle flooding, plowing and salting Thursday night and Friday morning.
"Life safety is the first priority," said Public Works Commissioner Bill Geary. "We had to close some roadways, such as Mineral Springs Road near the Lexington Green section of West Seneca. We've been assisting the town with pumps."
Geary said plow drivers have been plowing since about midnight and putting a lot of salt down due to the heavy layer of ice that came during a flash freeze late Thursday.
Some of the roads that flooded and were closed for a time in Erie County include, but are not limited to:
Dodge Rd near Glen Oaks, Amherst
Hopkins Rd, Amherst
Barnum Rd, Akron
Eckhardt Rd, Hamburg
Bennett Rd, Hamburg
Stony Rd, Lancaster
North Main St, Angola
Heise Rd, Clarence
Lapp Rd, Clarence
Ketchum Rd, Collins
Mineral Springs West Seneca
Trevett Rd, Boston
Wehrle Dr, Williamsville
Geary said his crews are watching Tonawanda Creek very closely. He does not expect it to peak until sometime Saturday afternoon. "It should only be in the minor flood stage. It shouldn't get much above 12 feet," he added.
"If you see standing water and can't see the roadway, just turn around. Don't go through it, It's not worth the risk," he said.
